Carol Clarke celebrates 40 years at WYFF 4, revisiting her early days and lasting love for Greenville

GREENVILLE, S.C. —As Carol Clarke celebrates 40 years at WYFF 4, she is giving us a glimpse of the day she interviewed for the job.

Here is how Carol remembers that day:

"It was a cold, blustery, snowy day 40 years ago this month, when I boarded a plane in Rochester, New York, bound for a job interview in Greenville, South Carolina. I’d never been to the state, and I knew no one here, but after nearly losing my earlobes to frostbite in Rochester I was fairly sure the weather would be more comfortable down South.

"When the plane landed at GSP (known then as the Jetport), ground crews rolled out the staircase and opened the plane’s door, and I stepped out into 70-degree temperatures. Past the tarmac, I could see a landscape bursting with pink, white and red azaleas, creamy white dogwoods and sunny stands of daffodils. I’ve always said that this time of year in the South is like living inside an Easter basket. You could say it was love at first sight.

"And the people here were just as warm and welcoming. I stopped inside the airport to buy a local newspaper, and the woman behind the counter said, 'Sweetie, you’re going to get newsprint all over that beautiful suit. Let me get you some plastic to wrap the paper in.'

"The general manager of WYFF-TV, Doug Smith, learned that I was interviewing on my birthday, and his wife came by with a beautifully wrapped gift, a ceramic bird feeder, for the occasion.

"It was an easy yes when I was offered the job anchoring the 6 and 11 o’clock newscasts. I went back to Rochester, moved my belongings south, and started at WYFF on April 25, 1985.

"I was young and single and had a plan to stay in Greenville for a couple of years, and then move on to the next opportunity. But when the opportunity came, to go to Cincinnati in 1987 and anchor with Jerry Springer (yes, he became THAT Jerry Springer a few years later), I found I couldn’t say goodbye to Greenville, and all the wonderful people I met here. I came here for a job, but ended up creating a life.

"I thought I would share some flashbacks from my career with you over the next few months, along with some stories and memories.

"Below you’ll find a young Carol Anderson (my maiden name) in her first year at WYFF, reporting on the textile industry in Hong Kong and Taiwan. At the time, they were the biggest threat to the textile industry here in the Upstate."